Winter 2011 ( 56)

You’re nearing the end of the morning session and you feel good, even optimistic. Lunch is welcome and you follow it with a coffee, not that you feel in need of a pick-me-up, but it certainly won’t hurt. Then back to the booth, where an hour later it hits you with a sucker-punch: your eyes sag, a fog envelops your mind. That old nemesis - jet lag - is back with a vengeance.

Is interpreting for a writer a different exercise? Do interpreters use the same techniques when eloquence and style are the main elements to convey to the audience? The purpose of this article will be to provide an audience interested in literary translation and interpreting with insights gained during a practical interpreting experience and to discuss the possible existence of a new facet in interpreting.

Veronica Perez Guarnieri's advice to “stay as literal as possible” when interpreting at depositions seems to have ruffled a few feathers, to judge by the feedback received. Here are some quick takes on literalness in technical interpretation.

In December 2003, I wrote an article introducing Interplex, the glossary programme I developed with Eric Hartner. Since then we have tweaked and re-tweaked the software, taking on board the many suggestions received from interpreters using it in the booth. Seven years have passed – time to bring our Communicate! community up to date.

Travel light: advice heard from day one but not so easy to follow. As a budding interpreter I felt the need to carry a complete set of age - and interest - appropriate “civilian” clothing in addition to my businesswear, so I habitually found myself lumbered with a backpack stuffed with jeans, t-shirts, sneakers and martial arts outfits – but no underwear!

A spate of web watching and our band of LIN irregulars have uncovered stories on EULITA, a Nuremberg interpreter speaking out, a campaign against the blight of office-speak, language workers demanding recognition, and literary translation.

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